Monday, January 7, 2013

Escarole Pizza

A Different Pizza

The other day I came across my mother’s recipe book. It’s been a while since the last time I read through it, I almost forgot all the recipes she collected throughout her life. Pages and pages of handwritten recipes, notes, corrections, highlights, magazine cut-outs. Wrinkled paper, folded corners, sticky notes. Oil stains, chocolate fingerprints, sugar crystals and flour, rubbed in creases. Pages have yellowed and some recipes are now smudged but it’s all there...my mother’s favorites, her testings, food I’ve grown up with. I see her cooking, her apron wrapped tight, the light in her eyes, I’m holding her in my hands, she’s in between those lines. Page 26. Pizza di Scarola (Escarole Pizza).

Escarole is a variety of endive whose leaves are broader, paler and less bitter than other members of the endive family. Sure, you can probably do this with some other type of green leaf but it would not be the same. Sure, you can use another variety of olives but the taggiasche olives are....yes, what you need. They are small but very tasty and when they’re ripe they become a dark violet. This olive has a fruity taste and sweet flavour. Capers, the best would be to use the ones conserved in salt (rinse them before use).

If the taggiasche olives are not handy and you still want to try this, find something similar and of good quality. Use sweet black marinata Italian olives. It will still taste good.Oh...I also added some sunflower seeds. I thought they would taste good in this and they do! It's not part of the recipe but I never totally stick to the actual recipe.

Ingredients

bread dough

2 escarole heads

taggiasche olives

capers

1 chile pepper

2 anchovies

2 garlic cloves

olive oil

Rinse the escarole and chop in quarters. Heat a large pan, add some olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, a chile pepper and anchovies. Add the escarole. Salt and cover with a lid. When the escarole is reduced in size, add some olives, some capers and remove from stove. Let it cool off. Roll out your dough and place on a greased round pan. Fold in the escarole mixture. Place in a preheated oven. Cook for 30 minutes at 200°C (or until the bread dough is crisp).